The Phantom (Alan James, 1931)Pre-code thriller that lacks anything relating to thrills. A bunch of folks staying at a remote mansion, later including some of the local constabulary, are stalked and done away with one by one by the title character, an escaped convict (potboiler vet Sheldon Lewis in one of his final
movie roles). Now, you might be thinking to yourself, âhey, this sounds like a pre-code slasher flick!â?, and reading back over it, it kinda does, but really, it's not. Or, perhaps, it is, if you think about the absolute bottom tier of slasher flicks. You know the ones, where there's no characterization, no plot to speak of, nothing but a bunch of cardboard cutouts waiting for someone to come butcher them. (Read: any horror movie starring Paris Hilton.) Except, in this case, despite the movie being pre-code it failes to bring even the tiniest drop of blood to the party. Does have a few laughs going for it, but honestly, if you never see this movie, you won't have missed a thing. * Â 1/2
August 8, 2011
